The joining of high pair count cables, such as used in the communications field, has involved the selection of mating pairs of wires, then joining these wires individually. Such connections have involved stripping of the insulation from the wires, then twisting the bare wires together, sometimes with the addition of solder to the twisted portion, or, more recently, the use of mechanical crimping devices, sometimes utilizing a sleeve which is slipped over the wires and their insulation, then crimped to pierce the insulation.
Each of the prior art methods is limited to joining individual pairs of wires, totally unorganized with respect to the cable as a whole. It is not uncommon to join communication cables having 2400 pairs of wires, requiring 4800 connections at each splice. Furthermore, cables of this size are 700 feet or less in length. Thus, the number of splices, the time consumed and resulting cost in soldering and covering each connection virtually eliminates this method. The crimping method is somewhat faster, but has the serious disadvantage, previously mentioned, of resulting in a totally unorganized splice, which is further aggravated by the greater bulk contributed by the crimp connectors.
A still further disadvantage exists, particularly in joining high pair count cables requiring hundreds of connections, in that prior art methods are conducive to human error as to the proper sorting and selection of wires and pairs of wires to be joined, and errors so made are not readily detectable until subsequent testing of completed cables. This being too late for corrective measures, pairs affected by such errors must be abandoned, resulting in the costly waste referred to in the industry as "dead copper", of which thousands of miles exist.
Considering the individual connectors whether used in the field of communication, or in other fields such as the joining of conductors used to transmit electrical power, the time required to effect a connection and the dependability of the connection leaves much to be desired. Considering the joining of high pair count cables, prior art methods are conducive to human error. No means is provided by known prior art methods for timely detection or correction of such erroneous connections, which are common and costly. Considering a completed splice in a multiple conductor cable, prior art methods make no provision for the permanent and orderly organization of the wires, which shortcoming is increasingly serious in view of the vast proliferation of installations where cables with large numbers of conductors must be interconnected.